京都 Kyoto
This was the first stop outside Kyushu; we were now onto a bigger island called Honshu. We got there a few days before new years...the time to familiarize ourselves with a few temples and shrines...there are many wonderful places to see in a city like this, however by foot, sometimes you just don't have enough time to see them all.
Represent! the Kyoto official international 'gaijin' crew: annesan, wensan, loupsan, jimmysan, chrissan, and benjiro...
Temples and shrines usually have some kind of gates...this one happens to be the monumental gate of the Heian-Jingu Shrine...huge torii gates like these are always shrines gates.
A glimpse of the philosopher's path...unfortunately without 'sakura' blossoms: spring cherry tree blossoms are not to miss...
the path we took leads to one of my favorites : Ginkaku-ji.
This temple might not be covered in gold, or in silver for that matter, but as soon as you enter its garden, you can understand why this temple was one of the few not to get burned down...
with that said...it was very hard to capture the essence of it, so...i give you a piece of the city view...
A piece of Daitoku-ji...
famous for it's stone gardens: 枯山水 karesansui...
of many shapes and sizes...
beautiful bamboo.
Kinkaku-ji: yes, covered in gold...the gods were with us that day...pretty spectacular structure it was, shinning under a golden sun.
her goes a little taste of the old Kyoto style neighbor-hoods...small dwellings and narrow streets...
...and can't forget the maiko houses...caution: geisha in training; entertainment geisha that is. (look for the red lanterns!)
Contrasts: these downtown perspectives are always so remarkable when you don't expect them. Kyoto also has taller buildings, and interestingly enough, the map of the city is based on a grid, with parallel blocks, like most big american cities...
yup! a capsule hotel...convenient, comfortable...so easy to use, no wonder it's number one. ha.
A quick glance of a cemetery on the way up the hill: aerial view of an underground (dense) city.
still, on our way up...
Kiyomizu-dera: this beautiful temple is one of the prime examples of ancient japanese wooden architecture built without the use of a single nail.
...if you can't buy it, just take a picture of it.
Kyoto is also known to be the first imperial capital, hens the little stroll through the vast imperial palace park on our last day in Kyoto.
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